Oil prices are holding up well in the aftermath of OPEC's threat to reduce production again in February, unless there is another reason for today's strength that we donâ�,��"�t know about yet.  If we did not know better, the fact that the temperature in New York is 67 degrees right now, we would think by looking at the enclosed 4-hour chart that the US Oil Trust (USO) has been carving out an impressive bottom formation since early October. To â�,��"activateâ�,� the bottom pattern, however, the USO must hurdle the October-December highs at 54.60-55.21, which should trigger upside acceleration towards a target zone of 57.50-58. At this juncture, I am staying long the USO for such an eventuality.

Mike Paulenoff is a 26-year veteran of the financial markets and author of MPTrader.com, a real-time diary of his technical chart analysis and trading alerts on all major markets. For more of Mike Paulenoff, sign up for a free 15-Day trial to his MPTrader Diary by clicking here.